NATO membership is needed not only for Ukraine, since it could strengthen the Alliance.

Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said in an interview with "European Pravda" that many allies now do not think about after the war. They live today, thinking about how to send to Ukraine more tanks and shells.

"I agree with them. We need to speed up defence production in Europe. We need to look for where we can help even more. But we also need to think about the next steps! I don't see any other option than Ukraine joining NATO," Kariņš pointed out.

According to the Prime Minister of Latvia, the danger to peace and security in Europe is Russia, which seeks to continue to exist as an empire.

"Therefore, we must ensure that Russia does not succeed in its desire to change the world order, according to which we in Europe are moving from empires to nation states," he said.

As Kariņš claims, nation-states alone are vulnerable but together they are very powerful.

"We need to be additionally strengthened by Ukraine, which will join us," Kariņš said.

He noted that the NATO summit in Vilnius is to discuss Ukraine. Although he is not sure about any decisions on membership already at this summit, "we all have to start thinking about what will happen after the war, how to ensure that peace takes hold."

"I explain to my colleagues from other countries the need to think about the future. After all, Ukraine's NATO accession after the war is also in their interests, not only in the interests of Ukraine. It is in the interests of all of Europe," Kariņš said.

As reported, Krišjānis Kariņš believes joining NATO should happen after Kyiv's victory in the war but Latvia supports the start of Ukraine's EU accession negotiations already in 2023.

Watch the full interview with the Prime Minister of Latvia on EuroPravda's YouTube channel (Ukr).